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Trial of 1971 'war criminals' by March: B'desh Minister
Bangladesh will begin the controversial trial of the 1971 "war criminals" accused of collaborating with the Pakistan Army by March, the Law Minister said on Sunday.
Bangladesh will begin the controversial trial of the 1971 "war criminals" accused of collaborating with the Pakistan Army by March, the Law Minister said on Sunday.
Shafique Ahmed said the process for holding trial of those accused of taking part in the "genocide" by the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh's 1971 "War of independence" will start by March next year at the Old High Court building.
The government had decided to set up a tribunal for the trial at the building. Construction of the courtrooms and other offices will be completed by January, he said.
After the courtrooms and relevant offices are set up, the government will appoint prosecutors and investigators for the trial, The Daily Star newspaper quoted the minister as saying today. He said the investigation agency and the prosecution team would start work by March next year.
Jamaat-e-Islami, a crucial ally of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and several other radical rightwing groups have been accused of helping the Pakistani military during the 'Liberation War'.
Jamaat's chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid led the so-called Al-Badr forces, which is widely believed to have been involved in genocide, rape and murder of intellectuals in an effort to cripple the emerging nation in 1971.
However, the Law Minister underlined that nobody would be harassed political reason. The ruling Awami League, which has vowed to punish the criminals during the 'independence war', earlier demanded an apology from Pakistan for the killing of three million Bangladeshis and rape of lakhs of women by its army during the bloody nine-month war.
